2018 Luk Thung Cup
The 2018 Luk Thung Cup is the third Luk Thung Cup, scheduled to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from October 15-21, 2018. It is the second Luk Thung Cup to be held in Thailand, as it was moved from October to November due to James Hinchcliffe on DWTS and Bhumibol's death. Pee Saderd was the two-time defending champion, but lost in the race for the wildcard to Jirayu La-ongmanee and thus failed to qualify, despite having led the points after The Kardashians vs. The West Family. Tournament The Luk Thung Cup is the same as the WTA Elite Trophy, with IndyCar drivers finishing 9th to 19th in the final standings after the 2018 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma qualifying for the tournament. As Robert Wickens suffered injuries from the 2018 ABC Supply 500, if Robert Wickens is among the drivers 9th to 19th, the 20th place driver qualifies; as a tie between Chaves and Carpenter. Carpenter won and thus qualified. The wildcard entrant had to be of Thai origin, or born in Thailand. Although this tournament takes place in Bangkok, it is just hours away from the wildcard's place of birth (Rayong Province). In 2018, the tournament is 12 players in four groups representing Korean rookie Jirayu La-ongmanee's Luk Thung Cup wildcard. Qualified players returned to the top 10 in points.]] Marco Andretti finished inside the top ten in the points standings for the first time since the 2015 IndyCar Series season, also won by Scott Dixon. He made the Firestone Fast Six at the 2018 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma; it was Andretti's first since the 2014 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Andretti's best IndyCar race results came at road/street courses, 4th in Detroit 1 after winning the pole and 5th at Sonoma that allowed him to beat Robert Wickens by a point. Although he made no Feud quarterfinals, his best results were in NFLPA Veterans vs. NFLPA Rookies and Wanda Sykes vs. Nia Vardalos and Jeff Dunham vs. Ming-Na Wen and Taye Diggs vs. Caroline Rhea, where he lost in the fourth round to Josef Newgarden and his captain Pee Saderd respectively. finished 10th in the points.]] James Hinchcliffe finished inside the top ten in the points standings for the first time since the 2013 IndyCar Series season, where his first three IndyCar wins occurred. He won at the 2018 Iowa Corn 300 and that same week, made the quarterfinals in Jeff Dunham vs. Ming-Na Wen and Taye Diggs vs. Caroline Rhea, losing to Ryan Hunter-Reay. He only competed in 16 of 17 races due to him not qualifying for the 2018 Indianapolis 500, nominated for one of the biggest upsets in IndyCar history. His best Feud result was a semifinal in Inside the NBA vs. MLB All-Stars and Rashad Jennings vs. Team Eve, losing to Jirayu La-ongmanee in straight sets. As Hinchcliffe was part of the Abomasnow entry during the match, both players were fighting the loss of Instagram followers. scored his second straight top 12 season finish.]] Takuma Sato finished 12th in the points, his second-highest after the 2017 season. He won at the 2018 Grand Prix of Portland, where it was Jirayu La-ongmanee's first non-''Celebrity Family Feud'' win (first IndyCar race win) and Apolo Anton Ohno's 3rd overall. Backing up his Portland win with Sato's captains La-ongmanee and Ohno, Sato made the fourth round in the 2018 Indianapolis Open, losing to Volcarona. Sato made the fourth round in Jeff Dunham vs. Ming-Na Wen and Taye Diggs vs. Caroline Rhea, losing to his former IndyCar teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay. finished 13th in the standings.]] Ed Jones finished 13th in the points, only up by one position in the 2017 season, where he won Rookie of the Year and finished 14th. He finished 3rd in the 2018 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, where this was one of his best results in the whole racing season. He had mainly lackluster Feud results, exiting in the first or second round in the majority of the tournaments, due to him not voting for the winning family. Spencer Pigot was in his first full-time IndyCar season, where he finished 14th in the points standings, after he was part-time in both the 2016 and 2017 seasons. He finished 2nd at the 2018 Iowa Corn 300, his first IndyCar podium and Pidgeot's first since the same race in 2017. Pigot suffered lackluster Feud results as well, falling in the first or second round in majority of the Feud tournaments. Pigot also made the fourth round of the 2018 Indianapolis Open, using his Portland finish of fourth to do it; but lost to Simon Pagenaud. Zach Veach was also in his first full-time IndyCar season. He finished 15th in the points standings, after he was part-time in 2017, replacing an injured J. R. Hildebrand for Barber and the 2017 Indianapolis 500. He finished 4th at the 2018 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, his first top five finish. His best Feud result were fourth round in the first half of the season, in The Kardashians vs. The West Family and Sherri Shepherd vs. Ian Ziering and Tommy Chong vs. Derek Fisher and Gloria Govan, losing to Josef Newgarden and Larvesta, both Chevrolet cars, respectively. finished outside the top 15 in points.]] Tony Kanaan finished 16th, his worst season placing since 2000, and also one of the few seasons Kanaan failed to place within the top fifteen drivers in points. His driving was mainly poor results due to age, with a 7th place in Toronto. He then made the final in Sherri Shepherd vs. Ian Ziering and Tommy Chong vs. Derek Fisher and Gloria Govan, where Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's Jirayu La-ongmanee (despite singing in the UFO mask) ended his run for a second IndyCar driver title and his first Feud title. He also made the third round of Sherri Shepherd vs. Ian Ziering and Tommy Chong vs. Derek Fisher and Gloria Govan (August 19), and The Kardashians vs. The West Family and Jana Kramer vs. Gary Busey, where he lost to Beartic, and again to Jirayu La-ongmanee, the Rookie of the Year. finished 17th in the points for the second straight year.]] Charlie Kimball finished 17th for the second straight IndyCar season in a row, despite driving for Carlin. He finished 5th in the Honda Indy Toronto, his best race result since finishing 3rd in the 2016 Indianapolis 500. Kimball gave Carlin Motorsport their first top five finish in the series. Kimball made the semifinals in Sherri Shepherd vs. Ian Ziering and Tommy Chong vs. Derek Fisher and Gloria Govan, losing to Tony Kanaan. Despite the tournament result, he beat more of the regular Feud contenders such as Scott Dixon, Metagross, Volcarona, Pee Saderd, Josef Newgarden, Will Power, Simon Pagenaud and Beartic; but not Jirayu La-ongmanee. Matheus Leist finished 18th in the points standings, his first as a full-time rookie IndyCar driver. Although he had no top ten finishes, his best IndyCar result is 11th at the 2018 ABC Supply 500. He qualified his car inside the top six at the opener, the 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, his only top six start due to the shocking exits of drivers usually starting ahead of him. Leist made more progress in the Feud, in Steph Curry vs. Chris Paul and Laurie Hernandez vs. Shawn Johnson East, where he made the quarterfinals. He ended up losing to Jirayu La-ongmanee, the defending Feud champion. He made the fourth round in Sherri Shepherd vs. Ian Ziering and Tommy Chong vs. Derek Fisher and Gloria Govan, losing to his AJ Foyt Enterprises teammate Tony Kanaan. finished 19th in the points.]] Max Chilton finished 19th in the points standings again. He didn't get the results he had from the 2017 season, where he finished 11th in the points, upsetting James Hinchcliffe and Pee Saderd in the points standings after Sonoma. He needed to win the Gateway race to keep his top eight hopes alive, but didn't and instead finished 17th. Although he had no top ten finishes, his best IndyCar result was 11th in the first race of the two of the 2018 Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit. He qualified 6th at the 2018 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, shockingly ahead of other drivers who usually start ahead of Chilton. Chilton made more progress in the Feud, in Sherri Shepherd vs. Ian Ziering and Tommy Chong vs. Derek Fisher and Gloria Govan, upsetting Pee Saderd in three sets in the fourth round and losing to the eventual UFO Mask singer Jirayu La-ongmanee in the quarterfinals. In his last event before the Luk Thung Cup, the 2018 Petit Le Mans, as a lucky loser replacing the injured Russian Pee Saderd, he made the third round, losing to Jonathan Bald. Ed Carpenter qualified by the vote between Gabby Chaves and him, despite being tied 20th in the points with 187 points. Abomasnow picked him since he had the most votes, due to his 2nd place at the 2018 Indianapolis 500. won the wildcard.]] Jirayu La-ongmanee was the wildcard recipient of the event, being a native of Bangkok. Having took the lead after winning Inside the NBA vs. MLB All-Stars and Rashad Jennings vs. Team Eve, he won his first title in his second final. Also after that win, he hadn't lost the Feud points lead ever since. In The Kardashians vs. The West Family, he made the final as an unknown rookie who had been predicted by fans to fall before the quarterfinals. This led him to titles in Inside the NBA vs. MLB All-Stars and Rashad Jennings vs. Team Eve, and from Inside the NBA vs. MLB All-Stars and Rashad Jennings vs. Team Eve (July 1) to Emmitt Smith vs. Todd Gurley II and Craig Robinson vs. Casey Wilson. He finished in the IndyCar race podium twice, at the 2018 Grand Prix of Portland (his first IndyCar race win) and the 2018 Iowa Corn 300. After the completion of The Kardashians vs. The West Family and Jana Kramer vs. Gary Busey, he remained the only player with a 100% attendance in Celebrity Family Feud semifinals. In doing so, La-ongmanee became one of the only left-handed players to qualify for a Feud final. Champions * Jirayu La-ongmanee def. Marco Andretti, 6–3, 6–2. This was La-ongmanee's first non-''Celebrity Family Feud'' final, and Andretti's first since Eva Longoria vs. George Lopez and Yvette Nicole Brown vs. Ashley Graham. It was La-ongmanee's first non-Feud title. Trivia *Despite the tournament having 10 of the 12 Flygon group members, the Unseeded Group won for I Can See Your Voice Thailand, while James Hinchcliffe and Jirayu La-ongmanee lost. **Sao Sao Sao's winning singer only had one good singer (the first one); while two of them are terrible. References Graham Rahal and Marco Andretti (controlled by Pee Saderd) finished =8th in the points standings. James Hinchcliffe and his teammate Robert Wickens (who had missed the final three races due to his 2018 ABC Supply 500 crash injuries) finished =10th in the points standings. Category:2018 in tennis Category:2018 in Thailand